Sprinkler



March 13, 1934. w, coLE 's Er AL 1,950,712

SPRINKLER Filed March 16, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet l gwmntw F7576 h/wz/m/H @7 4 March 13,- 193.4. w. H. COLES El AL ,31

SPRINKLER Filed March 16, 1951 l 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Mar. 13, 1934 UNITED STATES totem PATENT orrics SPRINKLER Application March 16, 1931, Serial No. 522,948

6 Claims.

This invention relates to water sprinkling apparatus and speed controlling devices therefor.

One object of the invention is the provision of a sprinkler having a rotatable sprinkling member operated by the reaction of the water, the speed of the'sprinkling member being controlled by a readily detachable unit which is independent of the water supply.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a sprinkler of the water reaction type, having a fluid damped member connected directly and coaxially with the sprinkling member.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a speed controlling device embodying a series of reciprocable pistons operably connected to a rotatable member, the movement of the pistons being resisted by a suitable fluid which limits the speed of operation of the rotatable member.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description, the appended claims, and the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a sprinkler embodying the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a vertical section of the sprinkler taken on the line 22 of Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is a section on the line 33 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a detail sectional view of the reaction nozzle;

Fig. 6 is an end view of the reaction nozzle;

Fig. '7 is a vertical section taken on the line '77 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 8 is a section on the line 88 of Fig. 7;

Fig. 9 is a section on the line 99 of Fig. '7;

Fig.10 is a detail side elevation of the rotatable thrust plate; and

Fig. 11 is a detail of one of the pistons of the speed controlling unit.

- Referring more particularly to the drawings by reference numerals, similar numerals designating corresponding parts in the various views, 10 designates generally a rotatable sprinkling member or head having one or more nozzles which distribute water for irrigation purposes or the like. As shown, the sprinkling member is provided with a radially extending nozzle 11 provided on the outer end of the pipe 12, arranged so as to distribute the water radially at a suitable angular elevation to provide for a large throw or coverage. The pipe 12 preferably contains suitable means such as the pair of tubes 13, which straighten the flow of water and reduce any whirling tendency present in the pipe 12.

Threaded in the base portion of the pipe 12, as shown, is a second pipe 15, the end of which supports an elbow 16 on which is provided a reaction nozzle 17. The nozzle 17, which is preferably notched as indicated at 18 on the side adjacent the center of the sprinkler head to provide for water distribution to intermediate portions of. the covered area, is directed preferably'u'pwardly at a suitable inclination and arranged at an angle to a radial line so that the sprinkling head will be rotated by the reaction of the water as it leaves the nozzle 1'7.

The sprinkling member 10 is rotatably supported on the upper end of a stationary support, which is preferably in the form of a metal casting 20. The supporting casting 20, which is adapted to be screwed on the threaded end 'of a water supply pipe 21, is provided with one or more water passages which conduct the water up to the passage 22 in the sprinkling head, fromwhich point the water divides and flows through the two pipes 12 and and is forced out of the nozzles 11 and 1'7 under the pressure of the supply service. As shown, the support is provided with two branched passages 23 and 24, dividing the flow of water from the supply pipe 21 to the sprinkling head, these passages being clear and unobstructed so as to oifer substantially no resistance to the flow of water through them. The water'supply to these branch passages flows out the upper end of the support through holes 26 provided in the cylindrical tube 2'7 which is screwed or otherwise fixed at its upper end to the base portion of the pipe 12 so'as to form a part of the rotatable sprinkling head. The tube 27 is rotatably supported by means of a hollow threaded plug 28 mounted on the top of the support 20 and forming retaining means for packing 29 which is provided between it and a slidable collar 30 mounted on the tube 27. This collar 30 is pressed upwardly by a spring 31 which surrounds the tube 27 and which bears at its lower end against a second collar 33 slidably mounted on the lower end of the tube and which retains a second packing ring 34 against a flange 35 of the fixed support. The flange 35 rotatably supports the lower end of the tube 27 which, as shown, is of solid construction below the holes 26. By reason of this construction it will be apparent that the water is prevented from leaking down past the opening provided by the flange 35, but as will be apparent, the sprinkling member will be supported so as to be freely revoluble in the upper end of the support.

The reaction of the water as it leaves the nozzle 17, is of very substantial force and tends to rotate the sprinkling head quite rapidly. It is desirable however to rotate the sprinkling head quite slowly so as to obtain the maximum throw of the water sprays, and for this purpose a speed controlling device is provided, being so arranged that it may be readily attached and detached as a unit. This speed controlling device, as herein shown, comprises a housing 38 having a continuous or imperforate base wall 39 and a cylindrical,

side wall 40, a top cover plate 41 being attached by suitable screws 42 or the like to the top of the cylindrical wall 40. Within the housing is a rotatable thrust plate 44 preferably constructed as a metal disk mounted at an inclined angle on a supporting shaft 45 and fixed thereto in any suitable manner. The upper end of the shaft 45 projects through and is rotatably mounted in a boss 46 provided in the cover plate 41 of the housing, suitable packing 47 being retained above the bearing portion of the boss 46 by means of a retaining nut 48 threaded thereon. The upper end of the shaft 45 is flattened so as to be received between opposing ears 50 of the bifurcated lower end of the tube 27 just below the bearing flange 35 of the support 20. A transverse pin 52 extends through the opposed ears 50 and the flat upper end of the shaft 45 so as to couple the shaft to the sprinkling head, these two parts being mounted coaxially on the sprinkler. Between the pin 52 and the lower face of flange 35 of the support is a washer 49 which cooperates with the pin 52 in preventing upward movement of the sprinkling head. The housing 38 is provided with two opposed recesses 54 which seat on the curved portions 55 of the supporting casting 20, the construction being such that when the sprinkler head is detached from the shaft 45 by withdrawing the pin 52 and the sprinkler head then removed upwardly from the support, the housing 38 may be moved upwardly some little distance so that the seats 54 are removed from the curved portions 55 of the support. The housing 38 may then be withdrawn laterally as a unit from between the two branch passages of the support.

Within the housing 38 is an angular series of pistons 57 the lower ends of which are received in cylindrical passages 58 provided in the base portion of the housing. The lower ends of these cylinders are closed, and the pistons fit within a few thousandths of an inch clearance in the cylinders, the upper ends of the pistons projecting a little distance above the central portion 59 of the base of the housing, which provides a bearing for the lower end of the shaft 45 and which supports the bottom of the boss 60 of the thrust plate 44. The thrust plate 44 extends into slots 62 in the sides of the pistons, and by reason of the inclined position of the thrust plate on its supporting shaft the pistons are all operably coupled to the thrust plate and forced to reciprocate in the cylinders as the thrust plate is revolved by the sprinkler head. The slots 62 in the sides of the pistons are preferably curved as shown in Fig. 11 to provide an opening in the central portions of the slots which is only slightly greater in vertical dimensions than the width of the thust plate 44 at its periphery. Preferably the peripheral portions of the: thrust plate are arranged radially so that the clearance between the tops and bottoms of the curved slots in the pistons and the sides of the thrust plate is cons ant.

The housing 38 of the speed controlling unit is filled with oil or other suitable liquid, at least as to a level well above the upper end of the central portion 59 of the housing base. This oil fills the spaces in the cylinders below the pistons and fills the clearance spaces between the pistons and cylinders. The oil must flow out of one cylinder through the clearance space provided when a piston is forced down into its cylinder, and at the same time the oil must also flow down into an opposite cylinder when its piston moves upwardly. It will thus be apparent that the motion of all of the pistons, whether moving into or out of their respective cylinders, is governed by the oil flow. The retarding force created by the oil flow at very slow speeds of rotation of the disk is not very great the action of the speed controlling unit being practically frictionless. However, high speeds of operation of the thrust plate are prevented because at such high speeds the velocity of flow of oil past the pistons would be exceedingly great. The speed controlling unit therefore governs the speed of rotation of the sprinkler head to some desirable value and overcomes the large reaction force of the water as it leaves the nozzle 17. As shown, there are eight cylinders and pistons arranged in an annular series around the axis of the rotatable thrust plate, and due to this substantial number of pistons, it will be apparent that the retarding force exerted on the sprinkler head is substantially constant and does not fluotuate as any one piston reaches the end of its stroke or reverses its direction of travel.

The construction is such, as will be readily apparent, that the speed controlling unit which governs the action of the sprinkler head is readily detachable or attachable as a self-contained body and which is independent of the water passages through the sprinkler and of the water supply. The speed retarder operates with a-substantially constant force and of course is not affected by dirty water that might besupplied to the sprinkler. The use of gears, which are subjected to excessive wear especially at high speed of operation, is obviated in accordance with this construction. Replacements and repairs, although infrequently necessary because of the simplicity of construction, may be readily made and are comparatively inexpensive.

It will further be apparentthat the oil or other fluid contained in the housing of the speed controlling device cannot leak out as the bottom and side walls of the container are all of integral and imperforate construction. However, if the replenishment or renewal of oil should become necessary, this may be readily effected through an oil supply hole 65 in the cover plate by removing the threaded plug 66, and without disassembly of the housing. The qualities of the oil supplied to the housing will to a large extent govern the speed of operation of the sprinkler, but variations in the speed of rotation of the sprinkler may be readly effected by changing the angle of inclination of the nozzle 17 which will change the effective reaction force. For this purpose the elbow 16 may be threaded on the end of the pipe 15, and held in any desired position by the lock nut 67. The angularity of the nozzle 17 may be different from the angularity of the nozzle 11 so as to distribute the two streams to different distances, and with this same object the opening in the nozzle 11 may be considerably larger in size than that provided in the nozzle 17, if desired.

The speed controlling unit has been herein set forth as applied to a sprinkling device, for controlling the speed of operation of a reaction type sprinkler head. However the speed retarding device itself is a compact, efficient unit and is susceptible of many adaptations and uses. The housing 38 of the speed retarding unit may be attached to one element and the shaft 45 attached to another element of a machine or device so that the relative speed of movement of the two elements is effectively controlled.

While the forms of. apparatus herein described constitute preferred embodiments of the invention, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to these precise forms of apparatus, and that changes may be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention which is defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a. sprinkler, a supporting member, a sprinkling member rotatably mounted on said supporting member and adapted to be rotated by the reaction of the water, a closed casing, a device in said casing revoluble relative thereto, fluid damping means in said casing restraining the relative rotation of said casing and device, and means for detachably connecting said casing directly to one of said members and said device directly to the other of said members, with the axis of rotation of said device coinciding with the axis of rotation of the sprinkling member, said supporting member and sprinkling member having communicating water supply passages quite independent of said casing.

2. In a sprinkler, a supporting member, a sprinkling member rotatably mounted on said supporting member, a casing, a device rotatable in said casing, fluid damping means in said casing operated by said device and exerting substantially constant restraining efiect on rotational movements of said device, means forlholding said casing on said supporting member, and means connecting said device directly to said sprinkling member with the axis of rotation of the device coinciding with axis of the sprinkling member, said supporting member and sprinkling member having communicating water supply passages quite independent of said casing.

3. In a sprinkler, a supporting member having a water passage, a sprinkling member rotatably mounted on said supporting member and having a water passage in communication with the passage in said supporting member, a reaction nozzle on said sprinkling member, and fluid damping means independent of said water passages and detachable as a unit from the sprinkler and comprising a rotatable member detachably connected directly to the sprinkling member and concentric therewith.

4. In a sprinkler, a supporting member having an upwardly extending water supply passage, a sprinkling member rotatably mounted on said supporting member about an axis spaced from said water supply passage, and having a water passage in communication therewith, and speed controlling means for said sprinkling member mounted below the sprinkling member and at one side of the upwardly extending water passage in the supporting member.

5. In a sprinkler, a support having spaced up- Wardly extending portions, a sprinkling member rotatably mounted on said support above said spaced portions, a reaction nozzle in said sprinkling member, and speed controlling means for said sprinkling member detachably as a unit therefrom and comprising a casing held between said spaced portions of the supporting member, means for supplying water from said upwardly extending portions to said sprinkling member, and a fluid damping means revoluble in said casing and detachably connected to said sprinkling member coaxially therewith.

6. In a sprinkler, a support, a sprinkling member mounted on said support, a reaction nozzle on said sprinkling member, a closed fluid casing removably fixed as a unit to said support and providing an annular series of cylinders closed at their lower ends, a series of pistons in said cylinders, a rotatable inclined disk operably connected to said pistons and revolubly supported centrally of the series of cylinders, and means connecting said disk to said sprinkling member.

WALTER H. COLES. BERT J. NELSON. 

